Refrigerator having a movable refrigeration unit therein



Sept. 21, 1965 v. 0. RICE ETAL REFRIGERATOR HAVING A MOVABLEREFRIGERATION UNIT THEREIN Filed Feb. 9, 1962 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 N N L WEQ Q ml:

Sept. 21, 1965 v. c. RICE ETAL 3,206,943

REFRIGERATOR HAVING A MOVABLE REFRIGERATION 1mm THEREIN Filed Feb. 9,1962 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 frzuerziors yz'r gc'l Cflz'c'e and Georyeffi ns'on@"g/vM/Q.

p 21, 1965 v. c. RICE ETAL 3,206,943

REFRIGERATOR HAVING A MOVABLE REFRIGERATION UNIT THEREIN 5 Sheets-Sheet4 Filed Feb. 9, 1962 [7102721 0715 Virgil 6315 202 and George I 0 715cmSept 21, 1965 v. 0. RICE ETAL 3,206,943

REFRIGERATOR HAVING A MOVABLE REFRIGERATION UNIT THEREIN 5 Sheets-Sheet5 Filed Feb. 9, 1962 ffiverzi'arts Ira-7 a a. Fine and 660792 f.kfoknfion f zwm M United States Patent 3,206,943 REFRIGERATOR HAVING AMOVABLE REFRIGERATIUN UNIT THEREIN Virgil C. Rice, South Bend, Ind, andGeorge 1. Johnson,

Fort Smith, Ark., assignors to Borg-Warner Corporation, Chicago, Ill., acorporation of Illinois Filed Feb. 9, 1962, Ser. No. 172,151 Claims.(Cl. 62-3tl2) This invention relates to a refrigerator and moreparticularly to a refrigerator having a refrigeration apparatue readilydetachable and removable as a unit from the refrigerator.

Known types of refrigerators are provided with refrigeration apparatussecured within the refrigerator cabinet in a manner not readilydetachable therefrom, but requiring piece-meal detachment andremovability of the various component parts, such as the compressormotor, etc. Under these circumstances, the refrigeration apparatus withthe cabinet and also servicing of the apparatus is a tedious and timeconsuming operation. It is, therefore, highly desirable to provide arefrigerator having refrigeration apparatus which could be readilyassembled with, and detached from, the refrigerator cabinet as a unit.

It is a primary object of this invention to provide a refrigerator ofrelatively simple and economical construction and which is readilyadapted for partial assembly and disassembly to facilitate productionand thereafter servicing maintenance thereof.

A more specific object of this invention is to provide a refrigeratorhaving refrigeration unit, in the form of refrigeration apparatus,readily assembled with and detachable from, the cabinet of therefrigerator.

Another object of this invention is to provide a refrigerator having adetachable refrigeration unit including a disconnectable flue system forcirculating refrigerated air between the unit and a food compartment orcompartments of the refrigerator.

With these and other objects in view, the present invention contemplatesan exemplary embodiment in a refrigerator having one or more foodrefrigeration com partments, and including a refrigeration apparatuscompartment wherein the refrigerating apparatus is mounted on rails inthe apparatus compartment and can be assembled with or detached, as aunit, with the food compartment or compartments by flues or passages inthe cabinet of the refrigerator. The flues are adapted to be aligned andpositioned in sealed relationship with openings in a cold air passage inthe refrigerating unit when the unit is slidably positioned on the railswithin the unit compartment. A fan may be provided for circulating coldair passage of the unit through the flues and food compartment orcompartments in the cabinet for providing cooling air to lower thetemperature therein.

Other objects, advantages and novel aspects of the invention will becomeapparent upon consideration of the following detailed description inconjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a front view of the refrigerator showing the foodcompartments, the refrigeration apparatus or unit, and interconnectingpassages.

FIG. 2 is a side view of the refrigerator showing the refrigeration unitsubstantially removed from the refrigerator.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line 3-3 of FIG. 1 showing theposition of the flues with respect to the elements of the refrigerationunit.

FIG. 4 is a partial sectional view taken along line 44 of FIG. 3 showingthe path of the air through the refrigeration unit and into and from thecabinet flues.

FIG. 5 is a partial sectional view along line 55 of FIG. 4 showing therefrigeration unit in position and supported on rails in therefrigerator cabinet.

FIG. 6 is an end view of one of the supporting rails.

FIG. 7 is an enlarged partial sectional view of the aligned cold airpassage of the unit and flue of the refrigeration cabinet.

FIG. 8 is a partial sectional view taken along line 55 of FIG. 4 showingthe refrigeration unit apparatus partially removed from the refrigeratorwith the cold air passages of the refrigerator cabinet and refrigerationunit disconnected.

FIG. 9 is a partial sectional view of a refrigerator illustrating asecond embodiment of the invention and showing inclined complementarymating flue openings of the refrigerator cabinet and the refrigerationunit.

FIG. 10 is a partial sectional view of a refrigerator illustrating athird embodiment of the invention showing the telescoping complementarymating flue openings of the refrigerator cabinet and the refrigerationunit.

FIG. 11 is a partial side view of a refrigerator illustrating that thefood compartment can be in the central portion of the refrigeratorcabinet and the refrigeration apparatus can be in the upper portion ofthe refrigerator cabinet.

Referring to the drawings, there is illustrated a refrigerator (FIGS. 1and 2) generally designated by the numeral 10. The refrigerator includesa cabinet 11 provided with food-freezing and cooling compartments 12 and13 having openings in the front 14 of the cabinet 11. A compartment 15,housing refrigeration apparatus, is provided in the bottom of therefrigerator cabinet 11 and also has an opening in the front 14 of thecabinet 11. The unit compartment 15 is of a size sufficient to houserefrigeration apparatus generally designated by the numeral 16. Each ofthe compartments 12, 13, and 15 may be sealed by individual door meansof any well known variety such as generally indicated by the numeral 17(FIG. 2).

A vertical cold air inlet flue 20 is provided in the rear wall 21 of therefrigerator cabinet 11 and has an opening 22 in the top portion thereofwhich opens into the freezer compartment 12. The base of the cold airflue 20 opens into a horizontal flue 24 (FIGS. 1, 3, and 4). Thehorizontal flue 24 provides a 90 change in direction (FIG. 3) and opensinto a short flue 25. The short flue 25 has an opening 26 (FIG. 3) in arecess 27 formed in an upper surface 28 of the compartment 15. Therecess 27 is also provided with an apertured gasket 29.

An upper vertical return air flue (FIGS. 1 and 2) is provided in therear wall 21 of the refrigerator cabinet 11 and has openings 36 and 37which open into the compartments 12 and 13 respectively. A lowervertical return air flue 35a is also provided in the rear wall 21 of therefrigerator cabinet 11 and has an opening 23 in the compartment 13. Thebase of the lower air flue 35a opens into a horizontal flue 38 (FIGS. 1,3, and 4). The horizontal flue 38 provides a 90 change in direction(FIG. 3) and opens into a short flue 39. The short flue 39 has anopening 40 (FIG. 3) in a recess 41 formed in the upper unit compartmentsurface 28. The recess 41 is also provided with an apertured gasket 42.

The refrigeration apparatus 16 (FIG. 4) is in the form of a unitaryassembly and includes a main support-ing frame 45, a refrigerating flue46, an evaporator 47 positioned in the flue and supported on the frame45 by a bracket 47a, a condenser 48 supported on the frame by brackets48a, a compressor 43 supported by brackets 43a, and a fan 49 driven by amotor 49a supported by brackets 49b. The refrigerating flue 46 includesa hot air inlet passage 50 and a cold air outlet passage 51 .52 and 29to form a continuous sealed passage through the flue 20', the freezercompartment 12, the flue 35, the

"refrigeration compartment 13, the flue 35a and the unit flue 46. Theevaporator 47, positioned in the flue 46 and is provided with coils 56.The coils 56 are adapted to absorb heat and. thereby cool air passingtherearound 'in the flue 46. The fan 49, driven by the motor 49a,

is positioned adjacent the evaporator 47 in the flue 46 and is adaptedto force air past the coils 56 and through the continuous sealed passageand compartments 12 and 13 as indicated by the arrows (FIGS. 1-5).

Rollers-60 are provided (FIG. 6) on the rear portion of each side 61 ofthe unit 16. The rollers 60 are each rotatably mounted on a pin 62 whichis secured to a 'bracket 63 which in turn is secured to the unit frame'45. unit compartment 15 and are adapted to respectively A rail 64 issecured to each side wall 65 of the engage and support the rollers 60 tosupport the rear portion of the unit 16. An upwardly extending inclined"ramp 66 is provided on each rail 64 on the rear portion thereof and isprovided with a surface 67 adapted to respectively engage the rollers 60to urge the refrigeration unit 16 upwardly when the unit 16 is moved tothe extreme rear of the unit compartment 15.

The rails 64 are each provided with a stop 68 adjacent the end of eachsurface 67 for engaging the rollers 60 to determine the rearmostposition of the refrigeration unit 16 on the rails 64. The unit isprovided with downwardly extending brackets 69 on each side 61 thereof.The brackets each have an aperture 70 (FIG. 8) adjacent the forward endthereof and each rail has a "threaded aperture 71 adjacent the frontportions thereof. A screw 72 is inserted through the aperture 70 and isthreadably secured in the respective adjacent aligned threaded aperture711to secure the unit 16 in a horizontal position and the front of theunit 16 in a raised position (FIG.

A second embodiment of the invention is illustrated in FIG. 9 andutilizes a refrigeration unit, generally designated by the numeral 76which is similar to the refrigeration 16 previously described. However,the refrigeration unit 76 is provided with a modified raised lip portion77 around each of the respective openings 52 and 53 of the hot air inletpasage 50 and the cold air outlet passage 51 respectively. For purposesof clarity, and inasmuch as the lip 77 around the inlet opening 52 andaround the outlet opening 53 are substantially identical, the secondembodiment is illustrated (FIG. 9) with reference to only one of thelips 77 and the associated structures; namely, the lip portion 77adjacent the passage 39.

The raised lip portions 77 are slightly tapered from a high frontportion 78 to a low rear portion 79. The short cold air flue 25 and ashort hot air flue 39 in the cabinet 11 each open downwardly through atapered opening 80 into the unit compartment 15. The openings 80' areeach provided with an encircling gasket 81 and are tapered from a highfront portion 82 to a low rear portion 83. The opening 80 is therebyadapted for complementary sealing engagement with the raised lipportions 77 of the modified unit 76 when the unit 76 is in the rearmostposition (FIG. 9).

It should be noted that a pair of rails 84 (FIG. 9) similar to rails 64(FIGS. 5 and 8), are provided for supporting the unit 76 by virtue ofthe rollers 60 as previously described. However, it should be furthernoted that in the present second modification of the invention, therails 84 are not provided with the ramp 66 and, instead, are providedwith a single straight rail surface 85 for supporting the rollers 60.The unit 76 may be wholly or artially removed or inserted (FIG. 9) inthe unit compartment by moving the unit 76 to the left or to the right(FIG. 9) along the rails 84.

Inasmuch as the raised lip portions 77 are tapered downwardly from frontto rear or from left to rightand, inasmuch as the flue openings 80 arelikewise tapered downwardly from left to right, the low rear portion 79of each of the raised lips 77 are enough lower than the left orfrontmost' high portion 82 of the vertical flues and a, so that the unit76 may be completely inserted to the right on the rails 84 withoutobstruction. When the unit 76 is thus completely inserted in thecompartment 15, the raised lip openings 77 are in respective alignmentwith the openings 26 and of the short flues 25 and 39.

The raised positions 77 of the hot and cold air flues and 51 may beplaced in respective sealed engagement with the vertical flues 39 and 25respectively by pivoting the unit 76 clockwise (FIG. 9) about thesupporting rollers 60. The unit 76 is held in this engaged position 'bythe screw 72 which is inserted through the aperture 71' in theprojection 69 of the unit 76 and which is threadably mounted in thethreaded aperture of the rail 84 in the identical manner previouslydescribed in regard to the positioning of the unit 16. When the unit 76is thus positioned with each of the lip openings 77 in respectivesealing engagement with the tapered openings of the flues 20 and 35a, acontinuous sealed passage is provided through the flue 20, the freezercompartment 12,. the flue 35, the refrigeration compartment 13, the

flue 35a and the unit flue 46.

A third embodiment, of the invention is illustrated in FIG. 10 andutilizes a refrigeration unit generally designated by the numeral 86which is similar to the refrigeration units 16 and 76 previouslydescribed. However,

the refrigeration unit 86 is provided with a modified.

raised lip portion 87 adjacent three sides of each of the respectiveopenings 52 and 53 of the hot air inlet passage 50 and the cold airinlet passage 51, respectively.

For purposes of clarity, and inasmuch as the respective lips 87 aroundthe inlet opening 52 and around the outlet opening 53 are substantiallyidentical, the third embodiment is illustrated .(FIG. 9) with referenceto only one of the lips 87 and the associated structures; namely, thelip portion 87 adjacent the passage 39.

The raised lip portions 87 open upwardly and to the rear or to the right(FIG. 10) and are adapted to telescope within respective downwardlyextending lip portions 88 formed on each of the openings 26 and 40 ofthe short cold air flue 25 and hot air flue 39 respectively. Thesedownwardly extending lip portions 88 open .downwardly and forwardly orto the left (FIG. 10) to telescopically receive the respective upwardlyextending unit lip portions 87. As a result, a continuous seal passage-'is provided through the flue 20, the freezer compartment 12,.the flue35, the refrigeration compartment 13, the

flue 35a and the unit flue 46. In this third embodiment, the modifiedunit 86 may be rolled straight into the unit compartment 15, with therollers, 60 supported on the straight rails 84, and may be positionedwithin the compartment 15 against the stop 68 by the screw 72 aspreviously described.

It should be noted (FIG. 11) that the inter-relationship of the freezingrefrigeration and unit compartments need -may be inverted or rearranged.For example, the refrigeration compartment 13 may be located in the topof the cabinet 11 as represented by the compartment 13a, FIG. 11.Likewise, the freezing compartment 12 may be positioned in the center ofthe cabinet 11 as illustrated by the compartment 12a. Under thesecircumstances, the vertical flues 20, 35 and 35a could be rearranged andotherwise adapted to provide the appropriate cooling for this or othersimilar compartment arrangements.

It is to be understood that the invention is not to be limited to thespecific constructions and arrangements shown and described, except onlyinsofar as the claims may be so limited, as it will be understood tothose skilled in the art that changes may be made without departing fromthe principles of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. A refrigerator comprising a cabinet having a refrigerationcompartment and a refrigeration unit compartment formed therein, saidcabinet compartments having vertically spaced front openings to provideaccess to said compartments, said cabinet having flues therein openinginto the refrigeration compartment and the unit compartment forinterconnecting the compartments, a refrigeration unit having arefrigerating flue extending therethrough with openings adapted to berespectively aligned with the flue openings in the refrigeration unitcompartment, a pair of rails secured to said cabinet on opposite sidesof the unit compartment and engaging said unit on insertion of said unitthrough the front opening in said unit compartment, said rails beingprovided with means to slidably support said unit for positioning saidunit on said rails wtih the flue openings in aligned position and forelevating said unit to telescope said flues to complete a circulatoryair path through the flues and the refrigerator compartment, coolingmeans in the unit flue adapted for lowering the temperature of airpassing through the unit flue, and means for forcing the air through thecirculatory path.

2. A refrigerator comprising a cabinet having a refrigerationcompartment and a refrigeration unit compartment formed therein, saidcabinet having flues for interconnecting the compartments, said fluesextending upwardly into the refrigeration compartment from the loweropenings communicating with the unit compartment, rails mountedsubstantially horizontally on said cabinet on opposite side walls of theunit compartment, a refrigeration unit having a flue formed therethroughwith the openings adapted to be respectively aligned with the loweropenings of the cabinet flues, said unit being adapted to reduce thetemperature of the air in the unit flue, a pair of rollers rotatablymounted on the rear portion of each side of the unit in respectiverolling engagement with the rails for pivotally and slidably supportingthe unit on said rails, an upwardly extending ramp surface formed oneach of said rails for engaging the respective rollers to position theunit with the flue openings thereof in substantial alignment with thecabinet flue openings and with the rear portion of the unit in anelevated position immediately adjacent the upper surface of the unitcompartment to elevate said unit to telescope said flues, said unitbeing adapted to seal the aligned flues when the front portion of saidunit is pivoted upwardly about the positioned rollers on said ramps to apredetermined raised position, and means for retaining the front portionof said unit in the raised position.

3. A refrigerator comprising a cabinet, said cabinet having arefrigeration compartment and a refrigeration unit compartment formedtherein, said cabinet having a cold air inlet flue opening into therefrigeration compartment at one end thereof and opening downwardlythrough the top of the unit compartment at the other end thereof, saidcabinet having a hot air exhaust flue opening into the refrigerationcompartment at one end thereof and opening downwardly through the top ofthe unit compartment at the other end thereof, rails mountedsubstantially horizontally on said cabinet on opposite side walls of theunit compartment, a refrigeration unit having a flue formed therethroughwith a hot and a cold air opening at the respective ends thereof adaptedto be aligned with the lower openings of the cold air inlet opening andhot air exhaust cabinet openings respectively, said unit being adaptedto reduce the temperature of the air in the unit flue, a pair of rollersrotatably mounted on the rear portion of each side of the unit inrespective rolling engagement with the rails for pivotally and slidablysupporting the unit on said rails, an upwardly extending surface formedon the rear of each of said rails for engaging the respective rollers toposition the unit with the inlet and outlet and the unit flue insubstantial alignment with the inlet and exhaust openings of thecompartment flue and with the rear portion of the unit in an elevatedposition immediately adjacent the upper surface of the unit compartment,said unit being adapted to seal the aligned openings when the frontportion of said unit is pivoted upwardly about the positioned rollers onsaid upwardly extendings surfaces to a predetermined up position, andmeans for retaining the front portion of said unit in the up position.

4. A refrigerator comprising a cabinet having a refrigerationcompartment and a refrigeration unit compartment formed therein, saidcabinet having flues therein with ends opening into the refrigerationcompartment and opening into the unit compartment, said fiues havingrecesses formed therein at said ends opening into said unit compartment,a gasket positioned in each of the recesses, a refrigeration unit havinga refrigerator flue extending therethrough with openings adapted to berespectively aligned with the flue openings in the refrigeration unitcompartment, raised portions on said unit surrounding the refrigeratingflue openings and respectively complementary with the cabinet fluerecesses for engaging the respective gaskets to complete a sealedcirculatory air path through the flues and the refrigerator compartmentwhen said unit is positioned in the unit compartment, rails mountedsubstantially horizontally on said cabinet on opposite side walls of theunit compartment, said unit being adapted to reduce the temperature ofthe air in the unit flue, a pair of rollers rotatably mounted on therear portion of each side of the unit in respective rolling engagementwith the rails for pivotally and slidably supporting the unit on saidrails, an upwardly extending surface formed on each of said rails forengaging the respective rollers to position the unit with the flueopenings thereof in substantial alignment with the cabinet flue openingsand with the rear portion of the unit in an elevated positionimmediately adjacent the upper surface of the unit compartment, saidunit being adapted to seal the aligned openings when the front portionof said unit is pivoted upwardly about the positioned rollers on saidupwardly extending surfaces to a predetermined up position, and meansfor retaining the front portion of said unit in the up position.

5. A refrigerator comprising a cabinet having a refrigerationcompartment, a freezing compartment and a refrigeration unit compartmentformed therein, said cabinet having a first flue therein opening intothe refrigeration compartment and the unit compartment, said cabinethaving a second flue therein opening into the refrigeration compartmentand the freezing compartment, said cabinet having a third flue formedtherein opening into the freezing compartment and the unit compartment,a refrigeration unit having a refrigerating flue extending therethroughwith openings adapted to be respectively aligned with the flue openingsin the refrigeration unit compartment, said unit having surfacesadjacent the flue openings which are complementary with the adjacentsurfaces of the unit compartment flue openings to provide a sealedcirculatory air path through the flues and the refrigerator compartmentwhen said unit is positioned in the unit compartment, said unit beingadapted to reduce the temperature of the air in the unit flue, a pair ofrollers 7 rotatably mounted on the rear portion of each side of the unitin respective rolling engagement with the rails for pivotally andslidably supporting the unit on said rails, an upwardly extendingsurface formed on each of 'said rails for engaging the respectiverollers to position the unit with the flue openings thereof insubstantial alignment with the cabinet flue openings and with the rearportion of the unit in an elevated position immediately adjacent theupper surface of the unit compartment, said unit being adapted to sealthe aligned openings when the front portion of said unit is pivotedupwardly about the positioned rollers on said upwardly extendingsurfaces to a predetermined raised position, and means for 8 retainingthe front portion of said unit in the raised position.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS ROBERT A. OLEARY,Primary Examiner.

1. A REFRIGERATOR COMPRISING A CABINET HAVING A REFRIGERATIONCOMPARTMENT AND A REFRIGERATION UNIT COMPARTMENT FORMED THEREIN, SAIDCABINET COMPARTMENTS HAVING VERTICALLY SPACED FRONT OPENINGS TO PROVIDEACCESS TO SAID COMPARTMENTS, SAID CABINET HAVING FLUES THEREIN OPENINGINTO THE REFRIGERATION COMPARTMENT AND THE UNIT COMPARTMENT FORINTERCONNECTING THE COMPARTMENTS, A REFRIGERATION UNIT HAVING AREFRIGERATING FLUE EXTENDING THERETHROUGH WITH OPENINGS ADAPTED TO BERESPECTIVELY ALIGNED WITH THE FLUE OPENING IN THE REFRIGERATION UNITCOMPARTMENT, A PAIR OF RAILS SECURED TO SAID CABINET ON OPPOSITE SIDESOF THE UNIT COMPARTMENT AND ENGAGING SAID UNIT ON INSERTION OF SAID UNITTHROUGH THE FRONT OPENING IN SAID UNIT COMPARTMENT, SAID RAILS BEINGPROVIDED WITH MEANS TO SLIDABLY SUPPORT SAID UNIT FOR POSITIONING SAIDUNIT ON SAID RAILS WITH THE FLUE OPENINGS IN ALIGNED POSITION AND FORELEVATING SAID UNIT TO TELESCOPE SAID FLUES TO COMPLETE A CIRCULATORYAIR PATH THROUGH THE FLUES AND THE REFRIGERATOR COMPARTMENT, COOLINGMEANS IN THE UNIT FLUE ADAPTED FOR LOWERING THE TEMPREATURE OF AIRPASSING THROUGH THE UNIT FLUE, AND MEANS FOR FORCING THE AIR THROUGH THECIRCULATORY PATH.